A different twist to the 2007 remake.

Well, being a 2022 remake of the drama, it contains different elements when compared to the 2007 version.
Some changes are quite obvious, being the usage of smartphones or Bluetooth headsets (Smartphone usage isn't that common in 2007)
Also, there is some setting changes in terms of romance (more focusing on the Komue-Osugi pair), the office scenes is toned down quite significantly due to much shorter length of the drama (8*21 min episodes when compared to 7*45-60 mins episodes of the 2007 version) and how they swapped their bodies.
Osugi has become a much more important character than the 2007 remake (and there is some twists being included that is not seen on the 2007 version)

It is a light hearted, easy to watch drama in general.

Overall I would recommend you to watch both 2007 and 2022 remakes as both dramas has their own charm on it.

Read More

Asano Taigi will be forever remembered by the world.

This movie is adapted and based from a real life story, and describe the life of a real person, teenager named Asano Taigi. Based on what is described the movie, he is seen to be a kind and cheerful person.
He created the fight song for his Alma mater, Ichifuna Soul (which is still used until today as a cheering song) and some other pieces.
Unfortunately, this gifted person had to face cancer in real life and despite setbacks, he managed to write a few pieces of music with his gradually weaken body when he is battling with his cancer in real life. He lost his battle on 12 Jan 2017 and his friends who are attending his funeral are playing the music he composed there as a way to remember his 20 years of life.
If he still alives today, he would be an teacher on a Japanese school teaching music or even composing additional pieces of music. Despite his short life, this movie is dedicated to him to record his brilliant life, so that he can be remembered by the world.
You can find a lot of articles that are dedicated to him on Japanese internet, which you are welcome to read. Also do check up the subber Edward Wong which subbed this movie for your enjoyment.
May his soul rest in peace.

Read More

Wholesome, heartwarming drama.

I am one of the people who rarely wrote reviews (moreover for something who haven't been subbed in English) but I thought I have to write a review of this because I love the drama so much! This is one of the very unique dramas of the season. This drama was strongly recommended by someone who I know on the internet as a "must watch" in this season.

After the recommendations and some hesitation (since I have too much things to catch up), I decided to picked up and watch this drama (via Chinese subs, nobody has subbed this in English at the moment I wrote this post) and found that I was hooked to this drama immediately after watching it.

In this drama, all of the major characters, either have their own set of neurological related (such as Autism, ADHD) or real life problems (such as family issues, social issues).

The lead male character has autism, and as a result of being well cared by her aunt, which was a doctor on the psychiatric clinic she operated. He take over the clinic and become the main psychiatrist of the clinic after her aunt passed away. As a result of his autism, he analysed his patients in a unique view.

The lead female character found herself to have a lot of mistakes and hiccups while she was growing up (because of her ADHD), and because of her frequent errors while she was on doctor internship, was almost denied the chance to become a doctor until she visited the clinic that she had visited while she was young.

As the story developed, it also focuses on the problems which are likely to be faced by children and teenagers in real life, which is often not noticed on mainstream society unless someone in the family/they actually have such issues (such as Autism, ADHD, Dysgraphia, Anorexia nervosa and more) and the problems that have been faced by the main characters. A lot of touching points was also included in each episode, making that very heartwarming to watch. The scriptwriters also wrote the script very delicately.

In conclusion, this is a must watch if you haven't watched it already and you would be hooked on this drama if you watch it! If you have faced the issues described in the drama, you will found it to be very relatable!

Read More

Treat it as something else (musical) for better viewing.

The whole thing is just awkward, if you compare it to the story on the anime/manga. It is very disappointing to see that the live action is just a musical movie rather than an adaption of the manga/anime. There is so little resemblance to the Anime/manga. The live action is more suitable to be adapted as some kind of drama instead of this musical movie.

The good thing about the movie is the selection of actors (in fact, some of the leading actors) and the musical arrangements. Still, it is just very weird especially if you have read/watch the manga or anime.

Well, you won't be that disappointed on this if you treat it as a musical movie based on the manga characters instead rather than a live action adaption.

Read More

It is more to slice of life type of drama than BL.

How a happy encounter between 2 guys and 1 woman becomes a sad ending.

It all starts on an encounter of the lead characters on a restaurant, which three of them works part time. After the happy times between three of them, just like what you see on those BLs, the relationship slowly become problematic when Eiji's dad opposes the relationship between Eiji and his then boyfriend Makki, due to the fears that his son will be discriminated just like his friend, which was gay, where he had witnessed a long time ago and felt helpless as his friend has been outed by somebody. This is despite that he likes Makki, as a friend. Also, his dad also wants to have a grandchildren, further complicated the issue.

The issue start to become even more complex when Mieko decided to have child to solve the problem, which she get pregnant with Eiji's child. Makki decides to escape the problem after he found out the child's father was Eiji's.

After a long time, Makki meets his current partner Asato, which is a hair stylist and ended up being together. On one day, he see the photo of Mieko on Asato's photobook, which makes Makki remember the old times. They ended up meet up again after his current boyfriend mentioned Makki to Mieko, which she desperates to meet. At the end, Eiji aren't really happy with the outcome he have ended up, despite appearing to having a happy family on the outside. For Makki, the escape meant he have found his current boyfriend, which they meet in coincidence.

The story ends with Makki and Mieko ended up meeting again sometime later, with Mieko's daughter. It seems like they have adapted the feelings according to their current situation. Maybe if they don't choose to escape the problem, the outcome will be surely different.

Music wise, it is surely good and moody for me. Well, just don't treat this as BL as it is definitely not the regular BL drama you would see, which will ended with 2 lead guys being together forever and in love. Sometimes, things that happen on standard BLs just won't happen in real life, and this drama clearly reflects that.

Read More

Well if you like real life disaster drama - this is for you.

Well, The Days brings the one of the most disastrous nuclear incident in the world - Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster into our screens. I am quite interested on one of the most disastrous incidents in human history so I watched it.

When compared to Fukushima 50 (that one is rather short to describe in detail as it is a movie), The Days simply has more and longer time to tell the story, the information of the incident in depth, and the possible horror that can be result in the future.

Imagine that the possible worst scenario - 50 million people will lose their homes, the need of countless companies will need to relocate elsewhere in the worst scenario can cause chaos and logistics nightmare in the country that will continue in many years to come...

It was lucky that everything is in control and we need to thanks the team for made the situation under control with the great teamwork and their restlessness to try to control the situation. There are a lot of fears, sadness, anger and a few light-hearted moment in the story.

I hope that there won't be a third Chernobyl or Fukushima - these incidents are extremely disastrous.

Read More

Enjoyable but it is quite dark.

It is way more darker series when compared to the first season with it focusing on one multinational company that happens to be focusing on those that are considered "forbidden science" in real world, while remaining relevant to the theme of the drama in general, with a few new characters added in the season.

There is a lot of gore, bloody and even violence scenes across the series (can be very horrible or shocking to watch for some), so for those who are afraid to these scenes, you should avoid watching this. There are a lot of similar dramas out there there has less of these scenes.

Otherwise, I recommend you to watch the drama (alongside the first season). Even without watching the first season, it can be still enjoyed as a standalone series as both seasons are independent with each other, just with different topics.

Read More

I recommend everyone to see this.

Well, I initially picked and watched this drama because of Matsushita Kouhei + glasses combo.

As it is still currently airing (the final episode is in this Saturday) and I continued the watching of the drama (as it's airing each week), I will say the growth of the main character (Makino) from a very cold, weird doctor character (that's the reason why Makino was assigned to a school, as a replacement to the health room teacher at the school he is going to serve, that is going to have maternity leave, by the head of the pediatrics department, due to his often very weird and cold actions) - to a character that is still somehow cold and weird, but started to somehow care about the students/kids on the school he served.

There are many situations that are facing by the elementary school students (and even the teachers in the school) - and somehow the main character Makino was able to grasp and solve it.

The situations are, and can be sometimes sad, but it is just so heartwarming and fun to see this overall over the last few weeks and it is one of the better dramas in this season.
The story in the manga is fun and promising too, so be sure to check it out if you can!

Hoping for a second season soon - there are a lot of potential for further development!

Read More